Sunday nights are terrible for turnouts, so it’s not surprising that Mastodon‘s turnout tonight in Newcastle is somewhat pitiful. Still, those who have made it out are to catch a real treat; with new album Crack The Skye under their belts, the quartet have decided to play it in its entirety this tour. Get ‘em while they’re hot…
Live Review: Mastodon – O2 Academy, Newcastle, February 21st 2010
February 28, 2010
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Live Review: Mika – O2 Academy, Newcastle, February 24th 2010
February 25, 2010
Sold out, with a strewn of children and lollipops given out upon entry, tonight sees Mika returning to Newcastle after a two year absence, bringing his pantomime along with him.
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Interview: We Are The Union
February 22, 2010
While touring our shores for the very first time, Faye managed to catch up with We Are The Union frontman Reed, ahead of their show in Newcastle, they discussed how the UK’s been treating them (including their bewilderment of human pyramids), the band’s forthcoming new album, and their constant battle with the stigma attached to ska, as well as lots more!
Faye: Can you tell me a bit of history about We Are The Union?
Reed: We started a few years ago, as part of a response to the sort of monotony in the ska-punk scene, especially in Michigan, it kind of seemed like every band was sort of a rip-off Reel Big Fish, and not that there’s anything wrong with Reel Big Fish, but we kind of shared the philosophy that if you’re going to start a band, you should start a band to do something, or at least attempt to do something that no-one has artistically done before. So, that was kind of the original idea and what actually started happening was that we started to sound exactly like The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, so we had to reformulate our sound and we took on influence from bands like Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, and skate-punk bands like Strung Out, so we became more of a melodic band. Then we wrote and recorded Who We Are and that’s where we are today.
Faye: I’ve heard a few people call your sound a mix between Set Your Goals and Less Than Jake, would you say that’s fair?
Reed: I would say that’s fair, although, we really dig Set Your Goals a lot, we’ve played some shows with them and they’re great dudes, and we all really like that band, but I think when we first started the band, the idea was to be more Rehasher with horns, which is Roger from Less Than Jake’s side project, which is fast, melodic, and hardcore music, but it just so happened that we started at the same time when Set Your Goals were gaining popularity. I wouldn’t call them a direct influence on the idea of the band, but to say they didn’t have any influence on the song-writing would be a lie – they definitely do, they’re one of my personal favourite bands and they’ve had a huge influence on, not only my lyric writing, but on my life in general. Very stoked on that band, for sure.
Faye: You were supposed to come over last March, weren’t you? What happened there?
Reed: Yes, what happened there was we had a record written and we had this tour booked, and we planned on recording the record and shopping it around to record labels, but Vinnie from Paper + Plastik, contacted us and basically said, “Dudes, I really want to put your record out, I’m really stoked on your band, I can get you into the studio in March.” and it was sort of like, we can either go on tour now or record this record and try to come back after it’s done, so we ended up staying and recording the record, we did half of it then and finished it in June. It was a bummer to cancel the tour, but we’re here now, so it all worked out, I think, and now we’ve come over, I think it’ll be easier to do it again, because we’ve had the experience.
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Interview: My Passion
February 20, 2010
We last spoke to My Passion in a dingey little pub on the Quayside of Newcastle, back in April, when the band were gearing for the release of their debut album Corporate Flesh Party and buzzing about being featured in Kerrang! Magazine for the first time. How times have changed, as a few months on, we’re now talking to frontman Laurence René 20-mins before he takes to the stage at the O2 Academy as they open up for the Kerrang! Relentless Energy Tour, here’s what went down…
Faye: How are you today in Newcastle?
Laurence: I’m excited, I really like Newcastle, we’ve had some great shows over the last couple of years building it up. We played the big Academy once before, but only sort of half the capacity with Kill Hannah, and that was pretty insane, and this is going to be twice the amount of people with the balcony as well, so it’s going to be really good. We’ve met fans outside already, they’ve been queuing since early this morning and there’s a lot of My Passion, which is really nice to see.
Faye: You’ve got quite a big fanbase up here, it seems.
Laurence: Yeah, it seems to be growing and word seems to be spreading around, but with the Kerrang! Tour, there’ll be a lot of people who’ve never even heard of us or just haven’t heard our music, and it’ll be a chance to win over those people, so it’s really exciting.
Faye: I last interviewed you in April last year, what’s been happening in the world of My Passion since then?
Laurence: Shit, a lot, just before that we just received our first Introducing… feature in Kerrang! Magazine, then we did the small April tour when you saw us, we released our debut album Corporate Flesh Party, we got nominated for a Kerrang! award – we didn’t win, unluckily, we played some festivals – Download, T In The Park, then we did some headline tours and then we got booked up for the Kerrang! Tour, so lots of touring really and then writing our second album at the same time, up until Christmas and we’re recording that in April, so it’s just been full-on. [laughs] We get a little breather after the Kerrang! Tour and then we’re back out.
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Interview: Me vs Hero
February 17, 2010
Fresh from touring with Breathe Carolina, Faye recently caught up with Me vs Hero during their rescheduled, and practically sold out, headline show in Newcastle. We got chatting to the Preston popcore kings about all sorts, including, details regarding their forthcoming debut album, hopes to become a full-time band, and Ross’s Spotify premium account, as well as a whole lot more!
Faye: Can you say your name and what you do in the band?
Ross: I’m Ross and I play guitar.
Sam: I’m Sam, and I sing.
Mike: I’m Mike and I play bass.
Oli: I’m Oli and I play drums.
Pook: I’m Poor and I play guitar.
Faye: You’ve just been on tour with Breathe Carolina, how was that?
Sam: Very weird, it was full of 14-year-old crunk kids, but it was great, those guys are awesome, so accommodating.
Faye: What do you make of the whole crunkcore genre?
Sam: I think we’re a bit too old for it, you know when you’re young and genres come in and stuff, and everyone gets into it? I think we’re probably past it. I mean, I don’t mind it, it’s not my favourite style of music, we’re mostly into pop-punk.
Faye: Were you well received on that tour?
Sam: Yeah, to be fair, from what we saw, they were. They were really, really nice.
Mike: Yeah, we’re such a different band, we expected them to be, “What the hell is this?” with our beatdowns and stuff, but they seemed pretty into it, it was good.
Sam: Totally, it was kind of weird for us, but the guys were really nice and Lights and Sounds, the guys who were openers, they were really nice guys, got on with them so well. Shows like London, we’ve had a hard time in London, previously, like a lot of bands do, but London went down a storm, the kids loved it.
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Interview: Random Hand
February 16, 2010
Despite it being early days of the first ever Rebel Alliance Tour, van problems have already ensued, but that doesn’t stop Random Hand from returning to Newcastle, yet again, and, this time round, Faye manages to catch up with them, as they discuss the forthcoming departure of their drummer, the current state of UK ska-punk and their non-stop touring schedule, as well as a whole lot more!
Faye: Can you say your name and what you do in Random Hand?
Joe: I’m Joe Tilston, and I play bass and do a bit of ranting.
Robin: I’m Robin, and I play the trombone and I also rant.
Faye: How’s the tour been going so far? I heard you’ve being having some van problems…
Joe: We’ve had a shakey start, we’ve only been to two of the gigs so far out of four, but we’ve had a really good time so far and we’re friends, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Faye: Isn’t the other Joe, your drummer, leaving the band soon?
Robin: Yeah, he’s sort of doing the first half of this tour and then in the middle of the second half, we’re doing a date in Leeds, and that’s going to be his last proper show, which is obviously incredibly gutting for us, because he’s been in the band for seven years and a good mate of ours, but he decided it’s time to move on and do other things, you can begrudge him for it.
Faye: So, you’ve got a replacement sorted?
Robin: Yeah, we’ve got a guy line-up up who’s going to be able to do the rest of the stuff booked, and then we’re sort of looking for a few people to join as a full-time member after that, we’re still going to be going.
Joe: Yeah, it’s not stopping yet.
Faye: Have you got anything special planned for his last show?
Joe: It’s all a bit weird to think about right now, we’re just going to see what happens really. [laughs]
Robin: We might bake a cake, or something like that.
Joe: I might kiss him on the lips.
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Live Review: We Are The Union – Trillians, Newcastle, February 9th 2010
February 14, 2010
Tonight, Trillians in Newcastle holds host to popcore-ska outfit We Are The Union, from Detroit, Michigan, as they hit the UK for the first time, it’s just a shame that there’s not many people to witness it…
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Photos: Shockwaves NME Awards Tour – O2 Academy, Newcastle, February 4th 2010
February 14, 2010
Check out our photos of the first date of this year’s Shockwaves NME Awards Tour, featuring The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums, in Newcastle!
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Interview: Young Guns
February 12, 2010
Stopping off as part of the Kerrang! Tour, Young Guns arrive in Newcastle today, and George manages to whisk vocalist Gustav Wood off to a very confined space for a chat. Steady girls… they talk dial-a-supports, their as-yet-untitled new album due out later this year, and a whole heap of bits and bobs! Let’s get it rolling…
George: Can you say your name, and what you do in the band?
Gus: My name is Gustav Wood, it’s easier, everyone calls me Gus, because most English people are like what the fuck kind of name’s Gustav, and I’m the singer in Young Guns.
George: How’s the tour been so far?
Gus: It has been amazing. I mean, it’s such a great tour for us to be on, there are all the kind of silly business reasons y’know, like you get a lot of exposure in the press, and obviously they’re big shows, so all those kinda things are great, but the real thing is the chance to get out and play to so many new people every night, y’know? People who we perhaps haven’t played to before, that’s my favourite part of it, definitely, and all the bands are lovely and everyone’s having a great time, so this is definitely the best tour we’ve ever been on, for sure.
George: Which band have you gotten on with most?
Gus: That’s a tough one, ’cause in all honesty, everyone gets along really well. We already knew The Blackout, so it was good fun catching up with them and having a laugh, so that’s been really good fun hanging with them, but we’ve also ended up getting quite close with the My Passion lot. ‘Cause we’re sharing dressing rooms quite a lot, and obviously we’re rotating first and second every day, we spend quite a lot of time with them, and we end up being pretty close to them, and they are like the sweetest bunch of boys, they’re really really lovely, and and they’re actually on a really similar wavelength to us, in terms of their opinions about things, so we get on really well with them, and the All Time Low boys are actually really fucking safe, which you perhaps wouldn’t necessarily expect from a successful band from the States, but they were really down to earth, and they’re really decent guys. We’ve all gone out drinking a couple of nights and it’s been really good fun, so I wouldn’t like to pick, ’cause they’re all really awesome guys.
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Live Review: Me vs Hero – O2 Academy 2, Newcastle, February 6th 2010
February 11, 2010
After rescheduling a show from last month due to a clash with pop rockers Twenty Twenty downstairs, Me vs Hero have had but a fortnight to shift as many tickets as they can, and it’s clear to see by the ever-growing crowds outside, that they’ve succeeded. Tonight looks set to be an all-out popcore showdown…
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